Winds of Fury is a lot. It has to do a lot to get to a conclusion that sees the end of enemies of Valdemar who have been enemies since Talia met Elspeth in Arrows of the Queen and deal with Valdemar's magic problem, which has been a problem since Vanyel died at the end of The Last Herald Mage trilogy. It does manage to do all these things, though some of how they get this is honestly convoluted and convenient all at the same time. Parts were fun and parts made me want to speed through as quickly as I could... but overall, I think Winds of Fury was quite good.
I'm going to get the "I didn't like this" part out of the way first. Mornelithe Falconsbane managed to survive... again. Thanks, I hate it. Having him actually team up... sorta... with Ancar also landed in the category of "Thanks, I hate it." It eventually led to a very satisfying stomping of at least one of the two (Gwena was magnificent), but I still did not enjoy their team-up at all. Those were the chapters I probably would have skimmed if I had remembered anything from this book.
My notes have about two paragraphs gushing about Vanyel and Stefan being back for a bit. I was incredibly satisfied seeing them again. I was also overall satisfied with the explanation as to what the hell happened with the vrondi and the anti-magic spell thingy in Valdemar... I've only been ranting about it since Collegium Chronicles... Anyway, the chapters with Van and Stefan were a breath of fresh air and a much-needed break from the dire circumstances that were the end of Winds of Change and the ongoing war with Hardorn. I am also very glad the anti-magic thing is done and over with. Glad we've got Herald Mages back.
I genuinely loved pretty much everything that happened upon Elspeth's return to Valdemar. The reaction of people to the gryphons was great. Kerowyn's reactions to everyone was great. I enjoyed Kero since her introduction and I'm not sure I realized how much I missed her until she showed up to talk with the gryphons et al.
But yeah... I think that's really all I've got to say about Winds of Fury. Well, I guess I should mention An'desha... he was there... part of that convoluted and convenient plotting thing I mentioned in the intro. I have many shrugs in his direction. Other than that, though, I'm overall satisfied with the book/end of this trilogy.
Favorite Lines
"The mage who knows how to use simple spells cleverly is just as effective as the Adept with no imagination." - Nyara
"'Glorious Destinies get you Glorious Funerals.'" - Vanyel via Stefen
"Love is as much trust as it is devotion." - Stefen
"Stay awake, stop fading! Or--or I'll tell you Hawkbrother jokes! How many Hawkbrothers does it take for a mating circle?":No... not that... anything but that...:"Only one, but he has to be flexible!":I'm doomed...: - Elspeth and Darkwind
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